Copyright, Nina Bagley

2005-2014
All rights reserved.
I spend a lot of time taking photos and editing them; words take that long as well. PLEASE DO WRITE AND ASK PERMISSION before using any of my words or photographs. Thanks for understanding.

June 2012

i love it when a quote comes my way that speaks with a strong but quiet voice. every day i'm sent a little message of encouragement from values.com; sometimes they grab me, sometimes they speak and then are absentmindedly forgotten, but they are always sound, and sage. last week, the one that spoke loudest to me was this: ﻿

"let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. it will not lead you astray". - rumi

the studio continues to pull, and i am happy with this sensation. what a joy it is to create, to work very happily at what i do. my schedule has been a wild ride these past few weeks, with family and friends visiting, with a trip to alabama; work was put aside for a spell, resumed at a heightened pace, and now i'm off to wisconsin and beloved valley ridge art studio once again to teach two back-to-back workshops, six straight days of standing in the teacher's role. it's been nearly a year since i was last in that position, and i'm a little nervous about jumping back in. i hope i will not disappoint. i already know that my students will amaze me with their capabilities, with their own sense of creativity. bit by bit, i'll feel my way in these days before the workshop begins, i'll sort myself out and step into my instructor shoes. the shoes are red. my heart is still there, on my sleeve. let the lessons begin, for them and for me. in between the hours of sitting at my studio table, summoning ornamental pieces from some deep and ethereal place in my soul, i find quiet pockets of reflection, of deepest gratitude for the gifts and blessings that life has bestowed upon me. things will be quiet here at Ornamental for just a bit, but you know i'll be back as soon as i can.

things that have given me quiet and simple pleasure this week:

listening to william faulkner's Light in August on cd while working in the studio. beautifully and perfectly narrated by actor will patton (who also narrated charles frazier's Thirteen Moons that i listened to in april; thank you, fontana library!), it is an exquisite gift to have these words wash over and through me as i sit and tinker at the studio table. i studied faulkner as a college freshman for an entire semester (well, a quarter back then), and had not until now gone back to his words since then. hello, mr. faulkner. your work leaves me speechless when trying to describe the rhythm and cadence of your writing, the beauty of your incredibly wrought choice of words.

visiting with my beloved friend julie, who is down for a few days from ohio before she leaves to carry walter home with her while i am away. laughter, the sharing of stories, early evenings out on the deck with a little fire, walks out back on the trail through the woods as lightning bugs begin to appear, coffee out on the screened porch in the early mornings: good medicine. and walter unabashedly adores her, as well.

i wanted to give a little heads up to a brand new workshop i'll be teaching next february, at the lovely, lovely, lovely Artful Journey retreat, in the redwoods of central california. this will be my third time to teach there; it makes my heart and soul feel warm and full of light, just thinking about the place, the people, the spirit in the air. it is a sacred time, surrounded by quiet beauty. cindy woods o'leary, the retreat orchestrator, does an amazing job of making sure that each and every participant (and instructor) feels comforted and pampered (there have been, in the past, huge bowls of chunky homemade cookies, little bamboo plants, journals for everyone made from vintage papers and bound in scraps of antique quilts), and the classrooms are full of light, with views of natural beauty all around. i love this project - the incorporation of one's wishes and hopes and prayers and intentions into a work of art, something tangible and tactile, contained in a box that can then be tranformed into a piece of artwork hung on the wall or placed in a sacred spot on a table or shelf. the environment will be perfect for three days of quietly tinkering, stitching, wrapping, binding, and sharing our notions and our inspirations. i'll be bringing poetry and snippets of favorite book passages to read with you as well. i'll also once again encourage my students to bring boxes of their favorite hot teas and cocoas for our daily afternoon teatime there in class. the dates are february 28-march 4, 2013; registration opens july 10, at 10am pacific time. i know from past retreats that classes fill up quite fast, so if this sounds like something within your means and certainly within your dreams, don't wait too late. i would truly love to have you join us there. xo

Heart Catcher Workshop

You can click on the heart photo above for information regarding this upcoming workshop. I'm offering an early bird, price of $295.00 for the entire two days , if you pay before April 5; after that date, the price will be $320.00.